Growth is Its Own Reward

Please allow me to get a little nerdy, for a moment, and say that humans love transcendence.

Meaning, we humans love to transcendent our physical and mental limits.

This desire for transcendence can lead to good, bad, or innocent behaviors.

Drugs and alcohol are a way to transcend. And, within reason, they can be pleasurable. However, taken too far, they can turn, and become destructive.

There are also innocent ways to transcend. For example, kids often enjoy making themselves dizzy. Their pleasure is the result of temporarily escaping their day-to-day earthbound reality.

Halloween is another big occasion for transcendence. Kids of all ages enjoy dressing up because it allows us to become something other than we usually are. It allows us to transcend our limits.

Hopefully you are following me. I admit this post is a little nerdy.

This leads me to, perhaps, the most important form of transcendence; growth. You see, every time we grow, as human beings, we transcend our physical and mental limits. Isn't that right?

Becoming more than you were is definitely a transcendent experience. And it is available to us all. Indeed, humans are hard-wired to enjoy the growth experience.

Do not get me wrong, while in the process of growth, it can be very unenjoyable. Growing pains are a very real thing.

The joy is experienced upon reflection. When we look back at our struggles, and the obstacles we overcame, it can be a highly transcendent experience.

And, again, this is an experience available to all. Even better, it is a constructive, not destructive, behavior.

Last week I talked about the importance of faith. And, this week, I am asking you to believe. While you are going through the growth process, it may not be very fun or enjoyable.

But, I am asking you to believe. To put your faith in the knowledge of the joy of transcendence.

Indeed, I believe growth is life's imperative. No matter your age!

Blind Faith

Faith is an interesting thing. It is very necessary. Yet it ain't easy. Far from it.

To succeed, as an entrepreneur, you will need very large doses of faith, because doubt is insidious and destructive.

As entrepreneurs, we are bringing new and better things into existence. We are change agents. And, this can be very difficult because humans are wired to resist change.

Psychologists would call our natural tendency to resist change the Status Quo Bias. And, it messes with our heads. Because, the job of an entrepreneur is to innovate and bring new things into the world.

The life of an innovating entrepreneur is filled with doubt. And, the only known antidote to doubt is faith.

How do we develop faith? It is a great question. And, one you must answer on your own. That said, I do have some recommendations.

One thing I know, for sure, is humans are contagious. I am just getting over the flu. And, we all know how viruses and bacteria are contagious. But, that is not all. Many aspects of humanity are contagious.

This is why it is so important to be careful with whom you choose to associate. Ideas, attitudes, and emotions are also extremely contagious. If you want to build faith, get around people who have it. Go to conferences, symposiums, etc.

Perhaps the most critical element of faith is faith in self. This might be called self-belief, or simply confidence. If you have ever been around a successful entrepreneur, I am willing to bet that person reeked of self-confidence.

Which should make sense. To succeed, as an entrepreneur, you must overcome mountains of doubt. And, in doing so, you develop a very healthy self-confidence.

So, specifically, how do we develop confidence and self-belief? In a word, incrementally. Like most things in life, we do a little at a time. And, over time, we let the compound effect kick in.

As mundane as it may sound, like most things in life, the key to improvement is practice. You see, doubt will derail your dreams, so you need to develop belief. And, the best way to develop faith is by faithing. Meaning, taking small steps, which require faith, little by little, over time.

It is like Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Do the thing and you will have the power." Forget blind faith, go for earned faith.

Technology Destroyed My Company

A few weeks ago I wrote about the human tendency to be excessively seduced by technology. To the point where our brain flies out the window. Click here if you have yet to read it.

This is a really sour spot for me. You see, years ago, technology destroyed my company. I will explain. At the end of my college days, I had an automotive tuner shop, which I was building with a couple partners, and things were looking pretty promising.

In Orange County, California, lots of people like to drive fast cars. So, the market was there. Unfortunately, the company ultimately failed. And, the main reason for the failure was one word; technology.

I had one partner who was the main financial backer. And, without being too rude, this individual had delusions of grandeur. He thought he was he smartest guy around.

In an attempt to create an electronic network of distributors, he purchased Oracle software. If you are not aware, Oracle is not like Quickbooks or whatever. In addition to purchasing the product, we also had to employ a team of 4-5 engineers just to implement the software.

All told, that decision ended up costing north of a million dollars. Worse yet, it never really worked! But, the dream of a seamless electronic network was too much for my partner to resist. In simple terms, he was seduced by technology.

The other enormous financial mistake my partner made was he purchased these things called dynamometers. A "dyno" is a device used to tune cars. An excessive and unnecessary device, to be sure.

Total cost for the dyno mistake (again) more than a million dollars. In fact, when we sold our building, we sold it to a friend who owns a body shop. And, to this day, a million dollars worth of technology lays in the ground, unused.

Businesses usually fail when they run out of money. And, by throwing away more than two million dollars, we were led to a situation where we could no longer meet payroll.

As you might imagine, this was a very painful experience. Like all budding entrepreneurs, I had been very optimistic about the future. To have those dreams shattered was an enormously difficult pill to swallow.

The failure of that company taught me two extremely important lessons. First, as the title of this post says, technology can flat destroy a company. And, it can do it quite easily.

Humans are excessively seduced by technology, and this problem happens more often than we care to admit. To this day, I am very circumspect of any, and all, money spent on technology.

The other big lesson is how being an entrepreneur is synonymous with being a salesperson. Meaning, sales is the lifeblood of a business. If you do not make enough sales, you go out of business.

My formal education was in chemistry. And, unfortunately, my little 21-year-old pea-brain thought the following, "If I can get a degree in chemistry, from the #1 chemistry school in the world, figuring out business will be easy." Ouch! For years it was hard to admit those words.

These sorts of experiences are the reason I spend so much time harping on the importance of sales and selling. If you want to succeed, as an entrepreneur, you need to be a salesperson. And, it ain't easy!

Thus, in a sense, I share in the blame. Had I gotten the company to sell enough, we might still be in business. That said, a two million dollar hole was virtually impossible to overcome.

Had we not wasted so much money, we might have been able to buy the time to figure out a successful sales and marketing strategy. I think we could have bootstrapped our way to success.

All-in-all, as it stands, technology destroyed my company 😞

To be a Lighthouse

Have you ever seen the television show Life Below Zero? I find it utterly fascinating and entertaining.

A little while back I was watching an episode and they had this clip which strongly resonated with me.

If you have seen the show, you might be familiar with the name Sue Aikens. She is a cast member, and a colorful one at that.

Sue said all her life she has wanted to be a lighthouse. She has wanted to be a beacon to show people a path to safety. Here is the clip from the show:

I don't know about you, but I totally relate. For as long as I remember, I too, have wanted to be a lighthouse. I have wanted to help guide the way.

I am not sure if it is connected, but, my mom has always been a fan of lighthouses. She has a number of lighthouse decorations throughout her house.

One thing I know, for sure, is life is complicated and challenging. And, cutting through the clutter can be quite a chore. Indeed, it can be overwhelming. 

For this reason, I think we could all use the objective assistance of a metaphorical lighthouse. A lighthouse without an agenda. Not a self-serving charlatan, but an honest guide.

When you find an honest broker of knowledge, I think they are more valuable than gold. I once mentioned three of my main, personal lighthouses in this post.

My commitment to you, today and forever, is to be a neutral arbiter of information. With the explicit goal of helping you, in whatever small way, reach your goals, whatever they may be. In a word: effectiveness.

Additionally, done well, I think we know entrepreneurship is a form of lighthouse. More on this as we move forward. What do you want to be remembered for? Figure it out, then go do it.

New Beginnings

Happy New Year!!!

As we all know, the new year is a time of new beginnings.

The thing is, a lot of times, new beginnings are a matter of seeing old situations with new eyes.

Below is an amazing piece of artwork that was displayed at a festival called Burning Man.

I find it to be so powerful.

It reminds me to listen to my inner child.

It reminds me of beginner's mind, an idea I wrote about here and here.

Wouldn't you agree that, so many times, we get in our own way?